Actor Margot Robbie opened up during a SAG screening of Barbie about not receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, noting how blessed she feels with the film's reception and multiple Academy Award nominations.
Although Robbie earned a Best Picture nomination as a producer for Barbie, her absence from the acting nods surprised many inside and outside of Hollywood.
When asked about the snub, she wasn't bothered by it at all:
“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed. Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director. What she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing."
"What she pulled off, it really is. But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.”
Robbie said that she’s “beyond ecstatic that we’ve got eight Academy Award nominations," adding:
“We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact. And it’s already done that, and some, way more than we ever dreamed it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.”
Others couldn't help but be equally as positive.
Though Barbie was nominated for eight Oscars, the absence of nominations for Robbie and Gerwig cast a shadow over the film's recognition.
Gerwig, who received her first Oscar nomination for directing in 2017 with Lady Bird, had high expectations for a second nod.
Considered a frontrunner after earning acclaim from the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, and Directors Guild of America Awards—key precursors to the Oscars—she fell short of securing a spot among this year's directing nominees though she did receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Though Robbie did not get an acting nomination—a stunner for the lead in a movie that earned more than $1 billion at the global box office—her co-stars America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling did in their respective supporting categories.
Ferrera conveyed her disappointment, especially for Gerwig, praising her efforts in creating a "global phenomenon" from a concept that didn't initially resonate widely. She added that what Robbie "achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable" and that she "brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character."
In a statement, Gosling said that while he is "extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films," there is nonetheless "no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film."
